ZSI: India TO add 315 taxa and 540 species to its inventory of animal species

In 2021, India’s faunal database gained 540 new species, bringing the overall number of animal species to 1,03,258. Additionally, in 2021, 315 taxa were added to the Indian flora, bringing the total number of floral taxa in the nation to 55,048. Of the 540 species of fauna, 134 are new records for India, while 406 are new finds. Also in 2021, thirteen new genera were found. One mammal species, 35 reptile species, and 19 species of fish are among the newly identified species.

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KEY POINTS:

• Crocidura narcondamica, a white-toothed shrew from the Andaman and Nicobar group of islands, is the newly identified mammal species.
• Boiga whitakeri, also known as the Whitaker’s cat snake, was one of the remarkable reptiles found in 2021. It was found in Tamil Nadu’s Western Ghats.
• The order of insects known as the Hymenoptera, which includes sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants, was the source of the most new discoveries, accounting for 80 species, including one new genus.
• In 2021, experts from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), which celebrated its 107th founding anniversary on July 1, were responsible for 68 percent of the discoveries made about new species of animals. She emphasised that while the COVID-19 outbreak severely hindered expeditions, they have since been fully revived.
• India makes for 6.1% of the world’s total faunal variety with its 1.03 lakh species.
• 298 species and 17 intraspecific taxa that are new to Indian flora make up the 315 new flora taxa. Among these, 125 taxa have novel distributional data from India, and 204 taxa are brand-new to science.

Important Takeaways For All Competitive Exams:

• Director, Zoological Survey of India ((ZSI): Dhriti Banerjee

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